Webster in Sumter County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Sumter County Farmers Market

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, May 4, 2018

1. Sumter County Farmers Market Marker

Inscription. In the late 1800s, the small farms populating Sumter County competed against each other to send their fruit and vegetables away to market. Looking for a way to sell produce which would better serve the community and benefit all growers too, the local farming community established a cooperative in 1937, which became the Sumter County Farmers Market. Today's Farmers Market continues that long history of working together for the local community's best interests. As a wink to the past, the Farmers Market honors its founders and preserves a tangible link to the Market's history, by incorporating some of the cypress beams from several of the original buildings into the structure where you stand now. Look above you, and you will see living history in some of the original beams still in use.

City of Webster

Established in 1855, the City of Webster is the oldest municipality in Sumter County, Florida. Home of the Parson Brown Orange, one of the country's best juicing oranges, Webster gained its initial notoriety for the wealth of citrus grown in the area. In a devastating blow to the economy, the Big Freeze of 1894/95 decimated

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Webster's successful citrus industry. Fortunately, the resiliency of the farming community rebuilt the local economy by producing a variety of vegetables, making the Webster area the largest vegetable producer in the state in the early 1900s. Today, Webster's agricultural heritage continues as home to the third largest Cattle Auction in the state, the oldest-established Farmers Market in the state, and the largest Flea Market in the state, all held weekly at the Sumter County Market in the heart of the City.

Erected 2018 by Scenic Sumter Heritage Byway, Florida Scenic Highways, FDOT.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1937.

Location. 28° 36.964′ N, 82° 3.346′ W. Marker is in Webster, Florida, in Sumter County. It can be reached from North Market Boulevard (State Road 471) 0.1 miles south of Northwest 6th Avenue. Marker is located on the front of the Sumter County Farmer's Market Restaurant. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 524 North Market Boulevard, Webster FL

Sumter County Farmers Market Marker and Restaurant image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon

2. Sumter County Farmers Market Marker and Restaurant

33597, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Parson Brown Orange Tree (approx. half a mile away); Pilaklikaha / Abraham's Town (approx. 3.4 miles away); Bushnell Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.7 miles away); On This Spot (approx. 4.9 miles away); Ft. Armstrong (approx. 5.2 miles away); Richloam General Store and Post Office (approx. 8.7 miles away); Richloam (approx. 8.7 miles away); Rumors of Riches (approx. 8.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Webster.

Sumter County Farmers Market image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, circa 1950s

3. Sumter County Farmers Market

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2018. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 764 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 22, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.